The Playboy's Bride

Episode 2

She was still in shock because of the sudden proposal. What did he think of her, so what if  he had money, how could  he put forward a proposal like this, it was very disrespectful she thought. It felt like she was being asked to sell herself for money, she felt angry at her situation. If she was not in such a bad financial condition no Ethan could have ever approached her like this. She want to tear the contract but also she didn't want anyone at work to know about it so she picked it up and rushed back to the changing area and put it in her bag. Ben was eagerly for her outside, he wanted to know why Ethan was asking for her. He asked Sabrina why Ethan called, Sabrina really didn't want to give the real reason so she told Ben that Ethan wanted her to create a special unique menu for the next day. Ben knew obviously Ethan wanted something more or else why would asked for all the details on Sabrina and her family but he didn't push Sabrina as he didn't want to mess with Ethan. He asked her to go to the kitchen. She didn't have much time to think about Ethan for next few hours as the kitchen was quite busy.  At the end of the shift, while leaving Ken approached Sabrina. His eyes were warm and kind with concern unlike Ethan's she thought, she didn't understand why she just compared them. Ken came towards her and said, "Today there so much a rush in the kitchen and you always keep avoiding me so I didn't really get a chance to ask about your dad. How is he doing? And how are you holding up?". Sabrina smiled and said she is managing okay and her dad was still in a critical position but the boss had already said that he couldn't give her leave so she would go to the hospital after the shift on check on him. She could see Ken wanted to take care of her, he said, " You don't have to do everything alone, at least let me be a good friend and drop to the hospital". She nodded and followed him to his bike as she felt too tired to protest. She had never gone out alone with Ken before but she felt very comfortable as he understood her situation and spoke about things which helped her forget what she was going through for the moment. When they reached the hospital, Ken went inside and met her mother, consoled her and enquired about Jack. He was a sweet gentle guy she thought to herself unlike the guy who offered her money to be his contract bride. Ethan kept crossing her mind, obviously he would she thought to herself who in then right mind would have offered her such a proposition. Ken called Sabrina while she was deep in her thoughts, "Sabrina can you hear me? You always seem to drift away in your world. I will drop your mother and come back and stay with you." Sabrina got back to earth and she disagreed with Ken coming back and thanked him for dropping her and everything he did today but the rest she could handle on her own. She knew Ken felt bad but she didn't want him to suffer for her. Ken smiled and said, " Okay, strong girl as you wish but I am dropping my new friend Karla here. You take good care and try to get some sleep. If there is any emergency the nurses will call you. Bye." He had a way of making things easier and making people comfortable. He met Karla few minutes ago but already made her comfortable. Sabrina wished both her mother and Ken goodbye and went to the visitors's room. Her mother had left a pillow and blanket for Sabrina. Sabrina tried to rest in the visitors room but she felt restless thinking about the sudden proposal from Ethan. She took out the contract from the bag and started going through it, it seemed more like an offer letter for a job with all the terms and condition. Ethan had included all the expenses of her father's hospitalisation even after the contract is over to be taken care of in the contract, apart from which he included her brother and sister's education expenses, a monthly amount for her which was 10 times more than any highest paid chef would earn. She was shocked at the numbers, he really didn't care much about the amount of money he spent. He had mentioned in the contract there would be no strings attached in this relationship, it would be a contract for two year after which they were free to go their separate ways. There were several terms and conditions and Sabrina failed to understand why he chose her as he could hire any model like one she saw at the party and they would gladly do this for him for free. She kept the contract inside and researched a little about Ethan Dyson as she had very little knowledge who he was  but Ben behaved like he was a very important person. When Sabrina checked online she saw pictures of him with several girls, the local newspaper called him the richest playboy of the town.  There were news about his hook ups, his break-ups, his chaotic relation with his step mother, his lavish lifestyle and parties. They seemed like they were from different worlds all together. It was too much to deal with so she kept her phone and then thought to herself nobody in their right mind would be ready to be a contract bride. She would let him know on the weekend and be done with this , she didn't want to be a part of this chaos as her life was chaotic enough. Her body and mind was too tired to deal with these things right now, she drifted off to sleep . 

Ethan woke her up, as she got up from the bed she didn't ask why he came or what he wanted. She just felt conscious and turned away when suddenly she felt his hand slid around her waist. She didn't understand why she wasn't protesting, she trembled in his embrace while he kissed her neck. She felt a wave of emotions rushing through her body as his lips touched her neck. He turned Sabrina towards him, Sabrina looked into Ethan's deep blue eyes, as he pulled her closer she felt his chest and his breath on her skin when suddenly she heard her name, "Ms. Miller, Ms.Sabrina Miller, wake up" 

What just happened?, she thought to her self, why did she have such a dream about Ethan. But then she saw the nurse, she forgot all about it and asked the nurse what happened. There was news about her father, it was 3 A.M so it didn't feel like it was a good news. The nurse asked Sabrina to come and meet the doctor. In moments like this, she wished she was not all alone. She met the doctor, who informed her that her father suffered another attack and an operation had to be performed soon to decrease the risk of life. She felt very scared hearing this from the doctor and enquired about the operation and asked them to start it right away . The doctor asked Sabrina if her father had insurance  because the procedure was going to cost thousands of dollars apart from the expense on after care and medications. She got nervous after hearing that and didn't understand what to do, she didn't have that kind of savings nor could she manage with her salary even if she took an advance. "How much time do we have for the operation? Is there anything possible as I am the only working member and my father didn't have an insurance, if you could give me a little time to make arrangements". The doctor informed her that they could not wait more than 24 hours for this operation or else he might suffer another attack which might cost him his life. Sabrina panicked, she told the doctor she would do everything possible to get the money within 24 hours till then requested the doctor to take good care of his father. She gave the nurse a little money and asked her to get if anything was required from the pharmacy and give Sabrina a call in case of any emergency as she had to rush home and make arrangements. 

It was 4 A.M when she got up on a bus to rush home. As soon as she sat on the bus she started crying like a baby, she thought to herself she couldn't handle it anymore. How was she going to manage everything, how was she going to arrange the money, will Ben agree to give her an advance but even she took advance for 2-3 months that will not cover even half of her father's operation cost and there were other expenses too. The requirement was just so high, even if they sold everything they got they couldn't make the complete amount. Weren't they suffering enough, why did this have to happen? What was she going to say to her mother and her brother and sister. They lived in a rented house, all the family savings were saturated over the years because of her father and the savings she had she made the initial deposit for the hospital.  The closer she was to home, the scarier and real it got. Her hands were trembling, she knew Ronda and Jerry's financial wasn't that great either as they were moving back to their hometown soon so she couldn't borrow from them. She already had several monthly EMIs with the bank so a loan of such huge amount was not a remote possibility. It felt like that there was no hope at all and she was going to lose her father. She kept sobbing when the conductor came towards her and said,"Things will get better my dear. Don't lose hope." He handed her the bag that fell off Sabrina's lap.  The contract in her bag peaked out and she thought if this was her only way to save her dad as all the other doors were shutting down on her. Is this the only way to save her father but she bluntly said no to Ethan, would he agree, what if he already found someone else. She didn't really want marry him for the money but she felt like she had to marry him to save her dad, it felt life had decided to be cruel forever. She picked up her phone and texted Ethan,"I am ready. Can you meet me as soon as possible?". She got a reply immediately,"I thought you already said no, don't you want time till the weekend to think about it? Or are you very eager to be my wife ;-)". She felt disgusted at herself that she had to go against all her ethics to be the contract bride of a playboy to save her father. Her father had always made her life difficult but now she had to marry someone like this just to arrange money to save her father. She felt a little angry at her father but she still wanted to save him, she didn't want her mother to feel anymore pain. So she replied,"Like you said we can help each other. There is something I need to discuss with you, the reason I am accepting this sudden proposal I mean contract so if we could meet as soon as possible." 

Now, she had another issue at hand apart from her father's news. She thought to herself how was she going to disclose this news to her mother that she was going to get married. While trying to think of ways she reached her home, she rushed inside and freshened up. Ronda, Jerry, Karla, Chris and Kiara gathered in the drawing room for Sabrina as she came home suddenly instead of waiting for Karla to arrive at the hospital and her eyes were all cried out. Sabrina sat down and asked everyone to hear her calmly, she explained everything that the doctor had said. Karla started to panic about how they would arrange the money. Sabrina asked her to relax and explained that her boyfriend was going to help her out with the funds for the time being so that the operation can be started off. Everybody was surprised to hear this as nobody thought she dated anyone. She was always working even when she got home she wrote stories for extra income, she never went out much nor got dressed up. When asked she told them it had been a while now but since she had been so busy and wasn't sure if she could manage a relationship she never discussed about it as there would be a hype over nothing. But today when she didn't have any hope she discussed the situation and he insisted on helping out. This brought a smile on her mother face, Karla in tears said, " I never thought this day would come. I am so happy that you got a partner who understands your situation and ours and I am glad you met someone. You worked so hard my child, you are my blessing." She kissed Sabrina on her forehead and asked if it was Ken who she met at night. Sabrina nodded no and explained it was someone else and she would introduce him soon to everyone and apologised for not sharing sooner. The environment was a little less tense now but they sat down to have breakfast together. Chris and Kiara pestered her for her boyfriend's name and so  she told them his name was Ethan. After a while, she started getting ready for work when she received a text from Ethan saying that he would meet her at the La Praire lounge. As she left for work, she asked Karla to inform the doctor that they will arrange the amount within 24 hours. Sabrina couldn't wrap her head around the decision she had taken, how was she going to take this forward and how would she approach Ethan about the money for her father's operation even before they are married. She also thought about the dream she had last night and tried to think why, no doubt Ethan was very good looking but she had no feelings for him and she never had such dreams earlier. She decided apart from doing everything mentioned  according to the contract she will try to stay as far from Ethan as possible as he had a dangerous vibe about him apart from being a playboy, so falling for him will cost her a lot emotionally. She also felt guilty as she had to face Ken because everyone would come to know if Ethan and she got married, she was so grateful for what he did yesterday and he was such a nice guy that she didn't want him to get hurt for her.  On reaching La Praire, she realised everything was going to change when she signs the contract. 2 days back she didn't even know Ethan and now she had agreed to marry the richest playboy of the town and be his bride. Her heart started racing as she entered, she greeted everyone and changed into her uniform. In the kitchen Ken greeted her with a warm smile and asked about her father, she responded saying he was fine and rushed to help the others with the prep so she could avoid conversation with Ken. This was the reason she never spoke much to him before and yesterday it changed, 2 days back she had no time to date and now Ken was talking to her and she enjoyed his company as well but also she might be married soon. Ben came in and called Sabrina out, he said," Your guest is waiting for you in the lounge. Take good care of him."  

Ken looked a little annoyed as Ben smiled at her. What was going on why did the guest keep asking for Sabrina he thought.

Sabrina was dealing with her own doubts as Ben smiled as if he knew everything, did he know everything and what did he think of her thought Sabrina to herself. She wasn't marrying for the money, she was doing this to save her father or else she would have settled down long back if it was about money. She walked into the lounge and saw Ethan waiting with the little box on the table. Every time she was near him, she felt the same sensation in her body and after the dream last night it just felt a little more awkward for Sabrina. As she walked towards him, she realised he was not just very handsome but he had a strong captivating presence. 

Ethan asked Sabrina to sit, "How are you doing today future wife?". Sabrina found this comment very annoying but still ignored it without arguing, she said she was fine and needed to talk to him. There was a certain situation that made her agree on the contract, it wasn't that she wanted to be married for money but her father's condition was critical since last so she had to take this step. She told him that she had to deposit the money today itself to which Ethan replied, "The operation will start in sometime, I have already taken care of it Sabrina. I am taking this contract very seriously and expect the same from you" How did he know about it Sabrina asked, he said he has his ways. Sabrina's phone rang, her mother called her said that the operation had begun and told her that she will keep updating about the situation.  It was as if he had superpowers and had eyes on everything going on with her.

Ethan was calmly looking at Sabrina and thought to himself, he had never seen someone so innocent and strong at the same time. She was on the verge of crying but she held back her tears and thanked him for everything. She agreed on the contract, but she had some conditions which she wanted to discuss with  him. She said that she couldn't tell her family that this was a  contract marriage, so she explained him what she had told them about the relationship and Ethan agreed to this story as he would also be telling the same to his family. Sabrina asked when would the wedding take place as she had to inform about that to her family as well, Ethan said that it would happen on the 2nd of August a month from that day. He then insisted they could meet his lawyer or even consult a lawyer of her own if she had any doubts regarding the contract. She asked Ethan if anyone else knew about this contract, Ethan confirmed that apart from her, him and his lawyer  Joe nobody else knew about this contract as the more people know the contract the more problematic it will be. He then gave the little box to Sabrina and asked her to wear the ring, he said," This is my grandmother's ring and she kept it for my wife since we are doing this, you have to wear this if you agree I can put it on your finger now as we will get witness for our engagement as well. Sabrina was clear this was a professional business contract for Ethan as he followed all the rules and steps for the fulfilment of the contract." She nodded in agreement, she knew Ben was looking through the glass door and so were few other waitresses. She wondered if Ken was there too, which made her both nervous and guilty. Ethan in black suit, already looked like someone out of the movies dressed for the occasion but she wasn't ready like always, she wished she had a little make up on but then she reminded herself all this was fake and this wasn't even a real marriage. Ethan got down on one knee and held the ring in his hands, people started gathering near the glass door and started clicking pictures. Sabrina put her hand forward obediently and wore the ring, he asked her to smile a little to make it seem real. She smiled and it was one of the prettiest smile he had seen.